Reset password

Londolozi Live

Membership overview

We invite you to sign up for a Londolozi Live account and join our growing digital family united by our respect for nature and love of the wild. Membership is free and grants access to the Londolozi community, numerous innovative services and benefits across our digital ecosystem:

Quick sign in/sign up

Tired of new passwords? Link your social media account of choice for instant, secure access to Londolozi Live.

Who are you?

Tell the community something about yourself and tweak your Londolozi profile. More of a secretive animal? Keep your profile private.

Track your activity

Earn badges for your profile as you interact with Londolozi and the community as you comment, share and explore our online ecosystem. All your activity with Londolozi is now connected.

Increase your ranking

Earn prowess and rank up as you interact with Londolozi Live and earn a spot on the monthly points leaderboard.

Discuss stories

Chat with other Londolozi Live Explorers and with your favourite Contributors from the Londolozi team about their photos and stories from the wild.

Curate your own galleryNEW

Add your favorite photographs from around Londolozi Live to your very own Favorites gallery, using the ♡ button, for others to enjoy.

Purchase full res photosNEW

Buy your favorite photos in full resolution, easily and securely, for download at any time from your Profile Page.

Home of leopards

Tell us which of the Leopards of Londolozi you've encountered during your visit! Their cards will move to your profile page collection.

Rent gear

Need a camera for your stay? Book it online and hassle free. Travel to Londolozi light and easy.

Londolozi Live q

What Does the “MM” On Your Lens Really Mean?

Getting to know your camera can be a little daunting. You will be confronted with a whole new host of technical terms and abbreviations, and can at times feel a little lost.

However, a basic understanding of a few of the more common ones will not only help you make a decision when buying a lens, but will also go a long way towards helping you capture great wildlife shots.

So, whatt does “MM” actually mean?

‘MM’ is the focal length of the lens. All lenses have a “mm” number printed on them; some have a range of focal lengths. These numbers can vary hugely, from 8mm (a fisheye lens), all the way up to 1000mm and even beyond.

It is often incorrectly assumed that the focal length is measured from the front to the rear of the lens when, in reality, it’s the distance between the point of convergence in your lens to the sensor or film in your camera.

Different focal lengths and what they are used for.

Wide angle lenses have smaller focal lengths than telephoto lenses. The majority of wide angle lenses are 35mm or smaller whilst telephoto lenses start at 70mm and go up from there. Wide angle lenses include more of a scene, while telephoto lenses generally include only a small part of a scene.

There are different purposes for different focal lengths. If you are shooting a group of people having some sundowners next to the game viewer, you would want to use a wide angle lens. You would then be able to include all of your subject in a single shot and not need to move further away. If you are shooting wildlife however, you would need a longer focal length lens, because there is often a limit to how physically close you can get to the animal.

How does the focal length affect the perspective of the photograph?

In order to illustrate this, I have taken different photographs of the same subject matter at different focal lengths. Take a look at the shots below with their accompanying mm values. Note that I was using a Canon 7D mkii, which has a crop sensor, which I will explain further in another blog post.

All photos were taken from a fixed point, roughly 20m from the Land Rover.

20mm

50mm

100mm

200mm

400mm

600mm

As you can see, varying focal lengths have a huge affect on the type of photograph that you are going to capture. Based on what your subject is and your distance from it, it is up to you to decide what photograph you want and make a decision as to what lens you will need accordingly.

About the Author

Kylie Jones

Photography Manager

Being someone who loves the bush, people and photography Kylie has found her way to her dream job in the Londolozi Studio. Despite completing her Humanities Degree, she felt unsatisfied and found herself drawn to doing a wildlife photography course. Being both creative ...

Good post about focal length. I’ve found that having a 70-200 2.8 works well considering the distance you often find yourself from an animal. That being said, sometimes I wished I had a bit more length so have now purchased a 1.7 teleconverter which only reduces the f-stop by 1.5 stops. Sometimes we just have to carry two cameras-each with a different focal length as you never know what you’ll see and changing lenses on the run is never great because if the dust. Thanks!!

Associates & Awards

One moment...

Purchase a photograph

Our best photographs are available for purchase in digital format from the Londolozi Live Fine Art Store, via credit card. Purchasable photos are tagged with the Fine Art Store icon:

Once purchased, you will be able to download the full resolution, unwatermarked image (around 10Mb) from your profile page at any time. There are also different license options which you can choose from when adding the image to your cart.

To add any purchasable image to your cart, press the Purchase/Add to cart buttons next to an image, from anywhere across Londolozi Live:

Badges

Badges are awarded for achieving various things and come with a bunch of points in tow. Here's an example badge:

We've had the pleasure of hosting you here at Londolozi and together we've experienced the magic of the wild and now you're part of the family. You've let us know about your past visits while editing your Profile.

Londolozi Guest

Awarded for visiting Londolozi.

1000

prowess earned

for earning the Londolozi Guest badge

Each badge has a basic version, such as the Londolozi Guest badge above, and then a specialist version:

Londolozi Lifer

Awarded for visiting Londolozi three times.

2000

prowess earned

for earning the Londolozi Lifer badge

To see all the badges on offer and find out how to grab them, visit the Badge Showcase or click on any badge you happen to find out there in the wild.

Senior Digital Ranger

Digital Tracker

Master Tracker

Guest

We've had the pleasure of hosting you here at Londolozi and together we've experienced the magic of the wild and now you're part of the family. You've let us know about your past visits while editing your Profile.

You've earned the badge:

Londolozi Guest

Awarded for visiting Londolozi.

1000

prowess earned

for earning the Londolozi Guest badge

You're a specialist in this field and have earned the badge:

Londolozi Lifer

Leopard

On a trip to Londolozi you've been lucky enough to spot a leopard of Londolozi. You've encountered the leopard's profile card on the Blog and pressed the 'Spotted this Leopard?' button to record your sighting.

Lion Fanatic

Photographer

You've got an eye for the wilderness and have had your photographic journal from your time at Londolozi published on the Blog for others to enjoy. You found out how to submit your story by emailing us.

You've earned the badge:

Photographer

Awarded for submitting a photo story.

700

prowess earned

for earning the Photographer badge

You're a specialist in this field and have earned the badge:

Master Photographer

Storyteller

You've got the gift of the storyteller and have had a tale of your time at Londolozi published on the Blog for others to marvel at around the camp fire. You found out how to submit your story by emailing us.

Art Specialist

Good Work Foundation

You recongise the rare privilege it is to be able to experience the untamed beauty of the natural world, and have found an opportunity to give back through The Good Work Foundation, for the sake of others, your children and the wild. You've let us know about your donations while editing your Profile.

You've earned the badge:

GWF Patron

Awarded for donating to The Good Work Foundation.

500

prowess earned

for earning the GWF Patron badge

You're a specialist in this field and have earned the badge:

GWF Protector

Curator

You've curated your own Favorites gallery by ♡ing at least 15 photographs which you absolutely love from around Londolozi Live. If your Favorites gallery has caught the eye of the Fine Art site Editor and is featured, you've also earned the esteemed Featured Curator badge.

Londolozi Live

Membership Overview

Londolozi Live

Membership overview

We invite you to sign up for a Londolozi Live account and join our growing digital family united by our respect for nature and love of the wild. Membership is free and grants access to the Londolozi community, numerous innovative services and benefits across our digital ecosystem:

Quick sign in/sign up

Tired of new passwords? Link your social media account of choice for instant, secure access to Londolozi Live.

Who are you?

Tell the community something about yourself and tweak your Londolozi profile. More of a secretive animal? Keep your profile private.

Track your activity

Earn badges for your profile as you interact with Londolozi and the community as you comment, share and explore our online ecosystem. All your activity with Londolozi is now connected.

Increase your ranking

Earn prowess and rank up as you interact with Londolozi Live and earn a spot on the monthly points leaderboard.

Discuss stories

Chat with other Londolozi Live Explorers and with your favourite Contributors from the Londolozi team about their photos and stories from the wild.

Curate your own galleryNEW

Add your favorite photographs from around Londolozi Live to your very own Favorites gallery, using the ♡ button, for others to enjoy.

Purchase full res photosNEW

Buy your favorite photos in full resolution, easily and securely, for download at any time from your Profile Page.

Home of leopards

Tell us which of the Leopards of Londolozi you've encountered during your visit! Their cards will move to your profile page collection.

Rent gear

Need a camera for your stay? Book it online and hassle free. Travel to Londolozi light and easy.

sightings by Members

The Leopards of Londolozi

Since 1979 Londolozi has had a love affair with leopards. Over the last four decades, this dynasty has been chronicled by the many guides and trackers, past and present, who have worked at Londolozi.

You can visit the Mashaba 4:3 Female's dedicated profile page to access a rich trove of information about this leopard, including family tree, unique markings, territory maps, timelines and a host of stunning images and videos.